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The Canadian Committee on Public History awarded its 5th annual Public History Prize Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association in Ottawa. The winning project emerged from a curatorial partnership between the Museum of Vancouver, Museum of Anthropology, University of Waterloo, and Musqueam Nation. The collaboration culminated with the creation of c̓əsnaʔәm: the city before the city, a multi-site exhibition project.

This multi-disciplinary, community-based Indigenous research project resulted in a series of three museum exhibitions (all currently on display) at the Museum of Vancouver (2015-2020), Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia (2015-2016), and Musqueam Cultural Education Resource Centre (2015-2016).

c̓əsnaʔәm: the city before the city examines the history of Vancouver from the point of view of the Musqueam First Nation. It brings a critical history of city building, colonialism and dispossession, museum collecting practices, and Indigenous activism to public audiences. The project also engages many varied groups in discussions about conflicting and complex interpretations of Indigenous history and heritage sites as well as current debates about heritage and development in the city.

As Musqueam cultural advisor Larry Grant explains, “c̓əsnaʔәm: the city before the city aims at ‘righting history’ by creating a space for Musqueam to share their knowledge, culture and history and to highlight the community’s role in shaping the City of Vancouver.”

“We are thrilled that the committee has recognized this project as an example of innovative scholarship and public engagement,” says Susan Roy, historian at the University of Waterloo and MOV guest curator.

The award recognizes work that achieves high standards of original research, scholarship, and presentation; brings an innovative public history contribution to its audience; and serves as a model for future work, advancing the field of public history in Canada.

Upon accepting the award in Ottawa, Roy shared, "The c̓əsnaʔәm exhibition team is honoured to receive this acknowledgement that recognizes the importance of developing highly collaborative curatorial practices to reflect and promote new understanding of Indigenous history in Canada."

The Happy Show asked "How Happy Are You? The results are in...

There's a definite trend towards the high end of the graph here, with #10 being the first tube to be cleaned out. The gumball machines were refilled today, so we can start this experiment over again. What do these indications of our happiness mean? Exhibition designer Stefan Sagmeister sheds some light on Vancouver's overall happiness levels (remember this report?), and feeling like a '10.'

Below is an excerpt from Sagmeister's interview with Vancouver Review Media...

VRM: The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Your show opens in the same week a study is reported to show that Vancouver is the unhappiest city in the country!

Sagmeister: I saw that too and I understand that the research was pretty good, meaning that it had been conducted by proper people with proper methods. But the interpretation of it, I thought, was a joke. If you just read down to the fifth or sixth line it shows that the average person in Vancouver feels like a 7.8.

I have a lot of data on myself from the last six years using exactly the same system (of measuring people’s happiness on a scale of 0 to 10). If I had a 7.8 week, well, that was a damn fantastic week, an excellent week! So that there would be any complaints about “Oh my god! We are unhappy because we are only 7.8 on an average!” is ridiculous. Secondly, they were complaining that only 30% of people in Vancouver feel like a 9 or 10. I mean, who the fuck feels like a 9 or a 10? I don’t know anybody who feels like a 9 or 10 on an average.

In a period when I was on drugs and had fallen deeply in love I had several “10” days in a row, but this was a very particular and singular time in my life. I don’t know anybody who could say of them selves that they feel like a 10 for any prolonged period. But to me all this stuff is inconsequential. The fact that some people in some town in Quebec feel 0.3 points better or whatever, is immaterial. At the same time I do understand the problem of if you’re young, and the real estate costs are so beyond you that you can’t aspire to it, then that’s a real problem.

Museums like to show off their collections to the public. It’s rarely the other way around. And yet, the Museum of Vancouver is now scouting for the nifty, funky, unique private collections in the region for an upcoming exhibition.

Since beginning the search I’ve had several conversations with some incredible local collectors. A few months ago, I came across Lyanne Smith’s collections on Vancouver transit history. Listening to her talking about her collection was mesmerizing. I got a crash course on urban history using the lens of public transit from the perspective of someone who knew the biz firsthand. Below is a short Q&A with Lyanne. We’re just warming up here! There will be more on Lyanne and her accomplices (a tight network of local transit historians and collectors).

Please continue to check our blog. We’ll be providing updates on the exhibition planning process, featuring more collector profiles and teasing out some of the larger themes that come up every time we ask the question: why do people collect?

Viviane Gosselin: How would you describe your collection?

Lyanne Smith: My collection is an assortment of transit memorabilia from the Vancouver/Lower Mainland areas. The bulk of the collection consists of historical documentation from each of the operating companies, including National Electric Tramway & Lighting Company, BC Electric (BCE), BC Hydro, Metro Transit, BC Transit, SkyTrain, Translink and Coast Mountain Bus Company. Over the years, I’ve collected several thousands of items.

VG: Why did you start collecting?

LS: I started driving a bus with BC Hydro in 1975 and began collecting various pieces of literature about the transit system at that point. The same year, my parents gave me two “Reddy Kilowatt” items used in BC Electric (BCE) promotional campaigns in the 1950s. Since BCE was the forerunner of the company I was working for, they thought I would like these pieces. It kind of kicked off my collection. My collecting became an addiction after I met several of the old conductors/motormen from BCE in 1990 during the centennial celebrations. Having met these transit pioneers, the collection took an even more personal look at Vancouver’s transit history. In some ways I felt responsible for preserving the memory of men and women who dedicated a big part of their lives in the service of public transportation. Collecting is an emotional thing for me: I get so excited when I pick up a piece I hadn’t seen before! I want to know the whole story behind it.

VG: What kind of collector are you, how do you go about collecting?

LS: I focus on fare/transit tickets, the Buzzer, employee magazines, and promotional material, but I also have coin changers, transfer punches, tokens, and other interesting pieces related to that industry. I was given a lot of items from men and women who had worked with the transit system. I also had one antique dealer who looked for unusual pieces for me. I’ve always been very strategic about going to specific antique stores and shows as well.

Another favourite is the rarest piece in my collection: one of the only -- if not the only -- remaining ticket from the National Electric Tramway and Lighting Company. This company opened in 1890 and was the precursor of BC Electric. (see below)

VG: Looking at your collection of transit archives, what do you think people living in this region today can learn from that history?

LS: They will quickly realize that politics have always shaped the development of transit systems; Vancouver is no exception. Lack of funding, increased user fares, and the nature of expansions have always been at the centre of debates these past 100 years. When people start delving into the historical literature and primary sources on Vancouver transit, they can see that every decade or two, new ideas were introduced for addressing those issues, so that the system could be maintained and expanded; it’s very typical of any transit system. The thing I would like people to remember about the history of transit in Greater Vancouver is the front line employees who made the system run. Without them, there would be no transit system in the Greater Vancouver area.

It's been a rather thrilling time to work at the Museum of Vancouver. Not only have we launched an exhibition about one of the most important stories in Vancouver's history - c̓əsnaʔəm - but then we brought one of the most prolific designers in the world - Stefan Sagmesiter - to launch The Happy Show and give a few presentations.

On April 23, Sagmeister with friend (and local designer) Marian Bantjes had a conversation about design. This event was co-presented with the Graphic Designers of Canada, BC Chapter and moderated by Mark Busse. See video below.

Later that day, Sagmeister gave a lecture "On Happiness" which provided additional details behind The Happy Show and insight about his quest to better understand his happiness. Video to come.

Call to Collectors for Upcoming Exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver

We want to know about your collection, the idea behind it and how it all started.

The Museum of Vancouver is working on a temporary exhibition project that will feature Vancouver-based collectors and their collections. The museum wants to explore the mindset of these passionate “hunters and gatherers” and showcase their favourite pieces.

The collections might focus on Vancouver but they don’t have to. We are interested in learning how the collections came to be and what they bring to the lives of the people who create them. We are looking for interesting, beautiful, rare, unconventional collections: small, big, noisy, musical, historical, digital, analogue – surprise us!

This project will generate new discussion about the future of collecting, and the role of private collectors as memory keepers and makers.

Dawn Chubai from Breakfast Television visited the Museum to chat with Aaron Weidman from UBC's Happy Lab about the Psychology of Happiness, and MOV Director of Curatorial and Engagement Gregory Dreicer; she even rode the stationary bike to power the wall of neon! Weidman will be leading a Talk & Tour of the exhibition, June 4, Drecier will lead a Talk & Tour, August 6.

Stefan Sagmeister visited Breakfast Television studio to chat with Riaz Meghji about happiness and the exhibition.

Kevin Griffin from The Vancouver Sun (April 22) interviewed Stefan Sagmeisiter about The Happy Show. Stefan discribes the design and function of what to expect as you walk through the show in corralation to happiness, “It’s a subject that clearly many people are interested in,” he said. “We’ve designed the show so that you can walk through it and pick and choose and see something in 15 minutes. If those 15 minutes seem interesting, you can easily stay three hours.” Read morehere.

"At at time when polls suggest Vancouver is one of the least happy places in Canada, The Happy Show should be somewhere to have a much-needed laugh. Well, there or reading real estate listings and then playing with a mortgage calculator to see how many generations it will take to pay off that single family home." Full Articlehere.

"A glance at the gumball levels helps each of us find our place in a collective level. And suddenly, we’re not so alone." she says. Read morehere.

John Burns from Vancouver Magazine talks with curator Gregory Driecer about The Happy Show and The Museum of Vancouver. (April 24)

"The show ties into larger themes for the museum, and for Dreicer personally, who arrived last summer to discover the dispiriting “Connections and Engagement” survey results from the Vancouver Foundation. His responses: this show, and a second, planned for 2016, that will “enable and help people to connect. But also get people to understand why connection is important: if an earthquake happens, are you expecting an ambulance just to drive up? If people can come away from interacting with the museum knowing why to connect and how, and having the opportunity to do so, then I really will be happy." Full article here.

Exert from Brian Patterson from 24 Hours talk with Gregory Driecer about The Happy Show and Vancouverites happiness (April 23)

"If there is one takeaway Dreicer hopes to impart to visitors, it’s that, “if we want to, we can take control of our own happiness. We can make a difference for ourselves and for other people at the same time.” Read morehere.

At the time, Sagmeister, who has documented his struggles with alcohol and drugs, weight gain and depression, said he was at an emotional low point in his life dealing with the death of his mom and the end of an 11-year relationship.“It was sort of ironic that just as I started to work on this happiness subject, my own life was actually going down,” he said. Read morehere.

“You have things that are very short in length of time, that last maybe a few seconds, that would be more in the way of joy or bliss or possibly an orgasm, and then there are medium lengths of experience, like when you spend a Sunday afternoon with a paper at the park. And you have very long experiences, possibly lifelong, like finding the thing that you’re good for in life, fulfilling your potential,” says Sagmeister.

“These three things all fall under the giant terminology of happiness, but really have little to do with each other. If you think of an orgasm, it really has nothing to do with finding what you’re good for in life.” Read morehere.

Cheryl Rossi of The Vancouver Courier walks through The Happy Show April 21

"A companion exhibit called #makesmehappy saw 10 Vancouverites, including writer Amber Dawn, singer-songwriter Veda Hille and hip-hop artist Prevail select an object from the museum’s vaults that sparked happy memories, write a blurb about it and issue an immediate call to action, such as call your mother." Read morehere.

More reviews:

"If you’re in the Vancouver area pick a date between now and September 7th and make a trip to the Museum of Vancouver. It’s the perfect day out, and guaranteed to make you happy enough to dance! It worked on us!!" - SpandyAndy

"The Happy Show is definitely one of my favourite exhibits. I absolutely recommend you check it out for yourself." -Ruuella

"I may not have exited the museum that evening with a pre­scrip­tion for hap­pi­ness, but I did have many new ideas to con­sider. My friend and I stood in a sur­pris­ing sum­mer rain shower and con­tem­plated what bus route to take back to our rented apart­ments. A yel­low taxi approached and with­out much delib­er­a­tion, we hailed it. For a few dol­lars each we got to forgo a long damp ride on tran­sit. As I watched our wet, bor­ing city glide past from the back seat, I was happy. For a while, anyway." - Eleanor Radford / SadMag

"interactive, informative and fun... With Gum-ball machines which you get a free gum by displaying how happy you are. A bicycle in the middle of a great big room on a platform, which you can ride and a huge display runs slogans of inspiration in front of you. Seek discomfort to achieve your goals. You only grow when your uncomfortable! In a word Brilliant! We haven't had this kind of mind jogging exhibit ever." - Ron P. via Yelp

"I’ve spent hours thinking about his proposition that people should take five years of their retirement and intersperse them into their working lives in order to contribute more to society. I also enjoyed his analysis of why we remember negative things more clearly than positive things and how that affects what we consider 'news.'" - Sabina / Victim to Charm

The 2015 TED Conference is currently taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre (March 16 to 20), but Vancouverites don’t need to spend big bucks to enjoy these "ideas worth spreading". For the second year, TED will stream the entire conference at select locations around the city, including:

Vancouver Public Library

Science World

University of British Columbia, Faculty of Education and main library branch

Vancouver International Film Centre

Potluck Café Society

Langara College

Emily Carr University of Art + Design

YWCA Metro Vancouver

The AMP

Vancouver Community Network

Wolrige Foundation

Stratford Hall Secondary School

David Suzuki Foundation

Grouse Mountain Theatre in the Sky

Stefan Sagmeister, the creative force behind our upcoming exhibitonThe Happy Show, has spoken at TED on numerous occassions. Follow these links to watch his Ted Talk "Happiness by Design" where Sagmeister takes the audience on a whimsical journey through moments of his life that made him happy, and 7 Rules for Making More Happiness.

Vancouverites are invited to spend the day exploring the six cultural institutions of Vanier Park, at the fourth annual Winter Wander, presented by Port Metro Vancouver.

Vanier Park is home to Vancouver Maritime Museum, Museum of Vancouver, H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, Vancouver Academy of Music, and City of Vancouver Archives. Each year, the group teams up for a one-day event where locals and their families can enjoy a taste of what Vanier Park’s cultural institutions have to offer.

For only $5.00, youth, seniors and adults receive admission to all venues, while kids five and younger can visit for free.

In addition to all the exhibitions, there will be some extra special opportunities to enjoy.

There will be food trucks on site from Triple-O's and Big Red's Poutine, and ventriloquist Kellie Haines will be performing her show at MOV (11:30am and 1:00pm),

Expert face painter Allyson Grant from Gossamer Designs will be adding colour the the festivities, and We Love Van will be providing complimentary water and coffee. Make sure to enter the prize draws too!

We are grateful for the continued generosity of Port Metro Vancouver, whose support will ensure that this year’s event is not to be missed. We would also like to thank our event sponsors City and LG104.3 for spreading the word.

We have received extensive coverage of c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city.

Below is a sneak peek of the exhibition at MOV by Dawn Chabai from City's Breakfast Television, or view here:

“We want Vancouverites to recognize that there was a city here before they came,” said Howard E. Grant. “When contact came, historians, archaeologists, and writers, wrote a lot about other tribes but very little written about Musqueam. It is now our time to tell our story.” - Excerpt from the Vancouver Sun: 'Vancouver exhibition at three sites tells the story of Musqueam city on the Fraser' Read more

Shaw Go WestCoast explore the exhibitions at Museum of Vancouver and Musqueam:

Below, NovusTV host Maike Evers explores all three exhibitions:

"The key across the project is to re-establish a connection between past and present, to show the continuum between the early Musqueam people and their descendants still here, still looking for justice and recognition." Excerpt from Vancouver Magazine's 'The City Before the City: The Musqueam First Nation'Read more

"Many people think of Vancouver as a "new" city. But long before the gleaming towers, the industry and the traffic was another thriving community called "cesna?em." Watch Jordan Wilson's interview with Gloria Macarenko on Our Vancouver: 'Vancouver's Musqueam past revisited'here and listen to Jordan Wilson give a tour of the original c̓əsnaʔəm site on CBC Early Edition: here click the "Listen" button.

"When guests visit the Museum of Vancouver’s newest exhibit beginning next week, the first thing they will see is a nail protruding from the wall beside its entrance. A Musqueam tradition advises visitors to someone’s home to “hang” any preconceived thoughts on a nail like this so people enter the space with an open mind and an open heart." Excerpt from The Globe and Mail: 'Using traces from Vancouver’s past, a vibrant community is recognized'Read more

"The origins of this city, now lying unseen below the streets of Marpole, date back 4,000 years, and the people who built it have been here even longer." Excerpt from the Westender: 'Groundbreaking, three-part exhibit traces the origins of Vancouver back to its Musqueam roots'Read more

“It’s one of the first times where Musqueam’s really been able to tell our own history in our own words,” said Jordan Wilson, a member of the Musqueam Nation, co-curator of the exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology and part of the curatorial collective for MOV. Excerpt from Vancouver Courier: 'Exhibits bring Musqueam legacy alive'Read more

"The exhibition asks, whose home is Vancouver? How have newcomers claimed Vancouver as their own? How do the Musqueam understand their lengthy connection to this place?" Excerpt from Price Tags: 'c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city'Read more

"At all three venues, the didactic components are thoughtfully composed and the exhibition design is handsome and effective. The elements that knit past and present together and that most engage the visitor, however, are the unearthed belongings and the quotes from and interviews with Musqueam elders and other community members." Excerpt from the Georgia Straight: 'c̓əsnaʔəm unburies the city's lost Musqueam world' Read more

"The story of Vancouver is typically told with a gaping hole, leaving out the perspective of the First Nations that called this land home for thousands of years before Europeans arrived." Excerpt from from Vancouver Metro:'New exhibit tells Vancouver’s story through Musqueam First Nation’s eyes'. Read more

“We want to make sure the Musqueam perspective is predominant,” Gosselin says. “Hopefully, when people come in here they don’t think the museum is speaking, but rather Musqueam presenting and representing the community.” Excerpt from Megaphone Magazine: 'Where We Started' Read more

"Our elders tell young people to go slow and be careful, because if something happens to one of us, there is a page in our living history torn out and lost forever." - Morgan Guerin. Excerpt from the Vancouver Observer: 'Can we mend thousands of years of displaced history in Vancouver?' Read more

“People often think of Vancouver as a new city, when in fact it is one of the most significant sites of ancient cultures in Canada – one that has even been compared to other societies such as the Egyptian and Roman societies.” - Terry Point. Excerpt from VanCityBuzz'South Vancouver 5000 Years Ago'Read more

Harkening back to a bygone era: Haunting melodies performed at MOV on January 17th, 2015.

Ever want to escape today’s hustle and bustle to a slower more romantic time? Vocalist Patricia Hammond charmed us with her pre and post war era tunes, bringing a poised and elegant presence to the stage. Patricia and guitar accompanist Budge Schachte have a soulful chemistry — evermore so when it was revealed to the audience that they met in person for the first time the day before!

The first half of this MOV event included a selection of 1940s tunes that brought out the hardships and far away travels of these war times when soldiers left their families and lovers behind. Patricia encouraged the audience to join in with “You’ll get used to it”, “Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye!” and “Will meet again some sunny day”.

After a costume change to a more whimsical dress, appropriate for the 1950s post war era, the second half of the show brought a feeling of letting go with songs such as, “This is my lovely day” and “Enjoy yourself.” “Far away places with strange sounding names” had an emotional resonance that reminded me of adventurous train travels in Europe.

Quite the conversationalist, Patricia revealed her passion for collecting sheet music. She discovered “She wears red feathers and a hootie hootie skirt” at Carillon Music in Vancouver, and performed it for the first time this night, with charm and grace.

Patricia’s 1950s dress had a playful fabric, which swayed as she sang and danced.

She revealed that it was a reproduction designed by Vivien of Holloway, and amusingly mentioned that certain songs tickled the bones of this dress, acting as an “imaginary singing teacher” as she sang.